An Ultra Successful 2025
Running on the Florida Trail–a highlight of 2025! (photo by Misty Dawn)
While I tallied just under 2200 miles of hiking and running for the year—not one of my higher mileage years, 2025 was one of my best years ever when it came to ultra-running. I had an incredible year completing the following races:
2 marathons: Cowtown, Fort Worth Texas
Flying Pig, Cincinnati, Ohio
two 50Ks: Smith Rock Challenge, Oregon
Wild Florida, Florida
three 50 milers: San Diego 50, California
Badger Mountain, Washington
Wy’east Wonder, Oregon
One 3-day staged ultra with a 60K: Golden Ultra, BC
One 100 mile: Hood Hundred
Earning my first 100 mile belt buckle at the Hood Hundred-the biggest highlight of 2025!
It was one of my biggest years ever when it came to ultra-running races in the number of races and their difficulty, with my first 100-mile race completed. And all of this done at the age of 63 and 64. I couldn’t imagine doing this at age 30! It will be hard beating this, and I know that my days are growing short doing these races—but I am going to keep pushing my limits until my body says stop! For 2026 I plan on doing another 100-mile race and a whole bunch of 50K and 50 milers and a 100K on the way! I want to qualify again to enter the Western States 100, and I want to do it if my number is drawn!
Come February 2026 I will be two years free of prednisone after taking it for three years to put my auto-immune condition Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) into remission. I continue to eat healthy shying ultra-processed foods and excess sugar, being determined to keep my PMR from flaring up again.
Every day I am grateful that I continue to live a healthy life and am able to push myself in the backcountry and on the race course. And every day here on planet earth is a blessing. Life is too short and for so many it ends abruptly or deteriorates rapidly. There is so much despair, sadness, and suffering in the world, and I never lose sight on how good I have it. I have truly lived a blessed life, and I am so grateful for it.
I continue to run for Team Potato and am greatly appreciative of all the support that I receive from the Washington State Potato Commission. This past year I added Texas, Ohio, and Florida to my lineup of completing a marathon or ultra in all 50 states. I am now at 11 with Nevada coming up next month for state 12.
Spending time on the trail with my family-here at BC’s Boundary Bay-always a highlight!
I got to spend some great time on trails in BC, WA, CA, OR, TX, OK, OH, KY, FL, AL, and NH. I got to do some kayaking in NH and Florida. Some skiing and some great biking on rail trails, too. My trail highlights include Oregon’s Smith Rock State Park, Mount McLaughlin and Crater Lake National Park; California’s Lava Beds National Monument; Oklahoma’s Chickasaw National Recreation Area; Dinosaur Valley State Park in Texas; Emerald Lake in BC’s Yoho National Park; a one day end to end on New Hampshire’s Wapack Trail; Florida’s St Joe Peninsula and Big Shoals state parks; Alabama’s Tuskegee National Forest; Ohio’s Hocking Hills State Park; Kentucky’s Red River Gorge; and Washington’s Riverside State Park. Biking Washington’s Spokane Centennial Trail and Olympic Discovery Trail were big highlights, too! Perhaps one of my most memorable trail experiences was encountering a mountain lion in California’s Santa Rosa Ecological Preserve.
It was a great year exploring new territory—and a lot of it with my wife and son who I enjoy sharing the outdoors and healthy living with! For 2026 I plan to continue running and hiking my culo off like there is no tomorrow—because life truly is too short and you have to seize as much as you possibly can! And of course, I will have my family along on many of my hikes and runs, because spending time with them is as precious as the time I get to spend outdoors. The best is yet to come! I hope you too have a great year planned!
